The invention relates to a passenger collision protection arrangement at a vehicle dashboard of the type including a glove compartment with a cover facing a passenger space.
Passenger collision protection devices are known in which a gasbag (airbag) is disposed recessed in a receptacle in the place of an original glove compartment in the dashboard in front of the passenger seat. The construction space for a storage compartment in the dashboard is thereby either severely restricted or even completely taken up.
In addition, arrangements have also been described in which the airbag is accommodated above the glove compartment (See German Patent Document DE 38 00 652 C2).
By virtue of the subsequently published German Patent Document DE 42 09 604 A1, the arrangement of an airbag in the cover of a glove compartment is also finally known. The cover is in this case, however, configured as a flap which is pivotable in the usual manner about a swivel point situated on the bottom edge, as a result of which the airbag, in the opening attitude of the flap, is unable to fulfill its protective function.
An object of the invention is to accommodate an airbag unit of a passenger collision protection system on the dashboard in a manner designed to save construction space.
This object is achieved according to the invention by an arrangement comprising a glove compartment disposed at a vehicle dashboard in facing relationship to a passenger space, a cover-linkage support arrangement supporting the cover for movement between a closed position covering the glove compartment and an open position opening the glove compartment for access from the passenger space side, an airbag accommodating cavity in the cover for accommodating a folded airbag casing, and a cap covering the cavity at its side facing the passenger space, said cap being openable in response to propellant gas expansion and unfolding of the airbag casing to accommodate expansion of the airbag casing to protect a passenger impacting thereagainst in the event of a vehicle collision, wherein the cover linkage support arrangement is configured so that the cover is guided for movement between the closed and open positions while maintaining the cover and cap in facing relation to the passenger space to thereby accommodate effective utilization of the airbag casing to protect a passenger in both the open and closed positions of the cover.
The accommodation of the passenger collision protection and, at the same time, at least the folded airbag or gasbag within the cover of a glove compartment keeps the receiving space of the glove compartment free for the accommodation of other articles. The effective unfolding of the airbag for the protection of a colliding passenger is herewith possible with a closed glove compartment as well as with an open glove compartment. For the opening of the glove compartment in especially preferred embodiments, the cover is disposed so as to be movable approximately in the vertical direction within the vehicle and the gasbag can be unfolded in each case in the direction of the passenger following the controlled opening of the cover.
Given an adequate size of the cavity of the cover, the contour of which can also be of somewhat arched configuration in the direction of the vehicle interior, it is also possible to secure within the cover a propellant means for the unfolding of the airbag casing. In another embodiment of the airbag, connected to the cover are gas pipes, through which the airbag casing can be filled, in a controlled manner, from a gas reservoir in the vehicle.
The cover can be pivoted by guide rods, which are configured and attached in such a way that the cover is moved approximately in the vertical direction within the vehicle in order to obtain, in every position of the cover, a favorable unfolding direction for the airbag casing. This requirement is also fulfilled, where the prospect of attaching the guide rods in the dashboard is unfavorable, by a link four-bar coupler, which allows the cover to be displaced in such a way that the center of gravity of the unfolded airbag volume remains approximately fixed in place irrespective of the opening attitude of the glove compartment cover.
In a simpler embodiment, instead of the four-bar coupler, a link parallelogram or a connecting link guide could be provided. For safety reasons, the necessary guide rods can be pivotably attached, recessed in the dashboard, at the side of the receiving space of the glove compartment, a respective swivel shaft for the guide rods of the cover being concealed by the cover, in a visually attractive manner, from the vehicle interior. In order to be able advantageously to support the impact forces exerted upon the filled airbag casing, embodiments are contemplated where provisions are made to secure the position of the cover, as the airbag casing unfolds, by a locking means acting upon the guide rods, or also to pressurize the cover, by virtue of the impact forces, in the direction of closing and to latch-lock the cover in the closed position.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.